The amount included 56,000 tons of corn worth $20 million, 79,000 tons of soybeans worth $66 million and feed additives worth about $5 million, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation El-Sayed El-Quseir said Sunday.

This brings the total amount of fodder released from 16 October 2022 to 25 January to 2.291 million tons, including 1.594 million tons of corn and 702,000 tons of soybeans and feed additives with a total value of $1.154 billion, according to the statement.

In a previous statement, El-Quseir stressed that the goal of the policy is to increase the availability of corn and soy which are the basic ingredients of feed for poultry and other farm animals.

He also affirmed  that these releases would contribute to decreasing the price of eggs and poultry and stabilise the market.

Prices of basic goods had soared in recent months partly due to the accumulation of vast quantities of imported goods at ports after the government applied curbs on import finance due to the shortage of hard currency last winter.

However, the government phased out these restrictions late last year after signing a new loan deal with the International Monetary Fund and adopting a flexible exchange rate in order to overcome the hard currency crunch.

On 18 January, Prime Minister announced that the government has released $4.8 billion worth of goods that were stuck in the ports between 14 and 17 January  and is on its way to release all goods stranded at ports.